Crackdown On Drug Dealers Pays Off

KISSIMMEE — About a year ago, apartment manager Willie Jones was making his afternoon rounds at the Orange Wood complex on McLaren Circle when he witnessed a drug buy going awry.

Even worse, Jones said, was what happened next. The prospective buyer jumped from his van and chased the drug peddlers through the complex, where children play.

The ''circle,'' as it is called, has always been a hot spot for drug sales in Kissimmee. But, according to Jones, drug dealers grew more brazen and tenants were becoming frightened.

Then Kissimmee police cracked down on small-scale street sellers. The 10- month-old program has paid off, Jones said.

''It's a hell of a lot better than it has been,'' said Jones, who has managed Orange Wood for four years. ''I'd say there's been a 65 percent turn- around.''

Reports compiled by Kissimmee Lt. Ren Taylor show drug arrests have soared: From January to October 1985, investigators made 124 arrests for possession and sale of cocaine or marijuana.

Taylor said two apartment complexes on McLaren Circle -- Orange Wood and Kissimmee Court -- have become ''notorious'' for drug peddlers who hang out offering ''curb service'' to anyone who drives into the dead-end street.

''It's the spot where locals know they can get their dope,'' said Taylor, who directs the department's special investigations unit.

''They feel secure selling there,'' he said. The layout of the complexes and streets create an enclosure, making it easy for sellers to see police.

Police focus on McLaren Circle was spurred by complaints last December from a half dozen residents who phoned city Commissioner Naomi Winbush. She said she lives nearby, and one day she walked over to the apartments to investigate the situation for herself.

''It was everything people complained about,'' Winbush said.

Winbush said many of the tenants who called her were afraid to go to the police, fearing retaliation. Most of the people who live in the area are black and from low-income backgrounds and ''felt they were locked into the area'' with no hope of getting rid of the drug dealers, Winbush said.

Taylor said because residents were so distressed, apartment manager Jones offered free rent to any Kissimmee police officer who would live at Orange Wood. No one took Jones up on the offer.

Taylor characterized Kissimmee's drug trade as average in a state where narcotics have become a lucrative import.

Much of the cocaine and marijuana is brought into the city by suppliers who obtain the drugs from smugglers in South Florida or Port Canaveral, Taylor said. Trafficking in large quantities is not prevalent in Kissimmee, he said. Because of the nature of the trade, Taylor said, investigations have focused on the suppliers.

Three major suppliers were arrested during drug sweeps, Taylor said. One has been sentenced to 30 months in prison, and the charges against the others are awaiting trial.

Five people have been charged with narcotics trafficking, which carries a mandatory three-year prison term. Most peddlers who have been arrested have sold small amounts of marijuana or cocaine worth from $5 to $50.

Taylor said most of the people arrested do not live in the McLaren Circle complexes.

The small-scale drug sales breed other crimes such as theft. Taylor said the crackdown has helped put a dent in the number of those crimes reported.

Taylor said police will continue to focus on the circle.

Jones said lately peddlers have seemed less inclined to gather on street corners, near cars and in the street as they had in the past.

''It hasn't stopped completely,'' he said, ''but I don't notice near as much.''